Chess Classes Mumbai, Learn chess classes in India

Chess is undoubtedly a very popular sport and it has remained the same since ancient times. The history of chess goes back to the 6th century, in India. Chess began its journey as ‘Chaturanga’. It was a Sanskrit word meaning, ‘Having four limbs’ which actually referred to the four level divisions of the ancient army.  When you look at the chess board, you get the idea behind it. The opponent king has to be defeated by using your players and smart strategies. Chess is about thinking few steps ahead and those who can strategise keeping in mind opposition’s possible moves have greater chances of attaining success.

The ‘Chaturanga’ was slightly different from chess in terms of the final goal of the game and the name of the players. The board had four military divisions of infantry, cavalry, chariotry and elephants. The popularity of Chaturanga spread to the different parts of the world. The game was known by the name of Shatranj in Persia and soon it became the most favourite royal leisure activity in the Islamic world. Game was adopted by different countries in various versions.

Chess was known as Ajedrez in Spain, Zatrikion in Greek and finally, chess in Europe. The game arrived in Europe in the 1200s and was modified into its modern form that we know as chess. It has maintained its modified structure and version since 1475. So essentially, modern chess is actually the Western chess that came into being with redefined rules and dictates. Some of these changes were related to movements of different pieces on the board.  For example, a pawn could move one space or two in its first move and different movement rules for queen and bishops. Most of these rules were not made at once. The rules kept changing with slight modifications and the final change was related to stalemates that were widely adopted by the early 19^th century.

Italy and Spain were the dominant countries in chess during the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Soon, Britain and France also joined them and the first modern chess competition took place in London in 1851 and it was won by Adolf Anderssen. Wilhelm Steinitz was the first world chess champion and since then world has witnessed great chess champions like Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand etc.